Staple remover housing means

ABSTRACT

A housing means for staple removers of the conventional spring actuated, pivotal jaw-type is provided for storing a staple remover when not in use in a generally horizontal position, with the jaws partially compressed and with all but the fingerpiece portions of the staple remover housed within a recessed body, with engagement between said body and the compressed staple remover preventing accidental displacement thereof, while permitting free removal upon slight further compression of the staple remover. Suitably the device is fashioned as two interfitting parts with top, side and end walls of the recess formed in the top part and the lower wall of the recess being formed by an interfitting protruding portion of the lower part of the assemblage. A single upper part of the assemblage can interfit with a plurality of different lower parts, on which the lower surface is specially contoured to interfit with a predetermined support, with preferred adaptations including provisions for mounting of the device on stapling machines either in place of or in conjunction with the striking pads thereof.

United States Patent Munson et al.

STAPLE REMOVER HOUSING MEANS Whitney K. Munson, 28 Pinckney Road; John N. Ricci, 22 De Forest Avenue, both of Red Bank, NJ. 07701 said Whitney K. Munson, by said Rlcci June 18, 1971 inventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

u.s. c1. ..254/28, 227/63 Reierences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1950 Von Cseh ..227/63 4/1954 Vogel ..254/28 lO/ 1 962 Pankonin ..254/28 2/1971 Rubin et al. ..254/28 Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson Attorney-James M. Nickels ABSTRACT A housing means for staple removers of the conventional spring actuated, pivotal jaw-type is provided for storing a staple remover when not in use in a generally horizontal position, with the jaws partially compressed and with all but the fingerpiece portions of the staple remover housed within a recessed body, with engagement between said body and the com pressed staple remover preventing accidental displacement thereof, while permitting free removal upon slight further compression of the staple remover.

Suitably the device is fashioned as two interfitting parts with top, side and end walls of the recess formed in the top part and the lower wall of the recess being formed by an interfitting protruding portion of the lower part of the assemblage. A single upper part of the assemblage can interfit with a plurality of different lower parts, on which the lower surface is specially contoured to interfit with a predetermined support, with preferred adaptations including provisions for mounting of the device on stapling machines either in place of or in conjunction with the striking pads thereof.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures STAPLE REMOVER HOUSING MEANS This invention relates to a staple remover housing means, whereby hand staple removers of the conventional spring tensioneddouble jaw-type can be stored or housed when not in use in a generally horizontal position readily accessible for .quick removal with automatic orientation in the hand for use in the removal of staples. Coacting means between the housing and staple remover supports the staple remover against accidental displacement, while permitting easy disengagement by slight compression of the spring tensioned jaws. The lower portion of the housing means is of variable structure and design adapting the same to be positioned or mounted in connection with a variety of supports with preferred adaptations involving means for mounting in connection with conventional stapling machines either in place of or in conjunction with the striking pads thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For removal of wire staples which are so extensively used in joining together multiple layers of sheet materials and the like, mechanical staple removal has been effected by various means, the mostversatile and widely used being the simple spring tensioned hand operated devices of the general type disclosed in [1.5. Pat. No. 2,033,050, in which elongated channel members are pivoted at one end and have staple engaging jaws at the other end, with suitable finger pads in alignment with the jaws to facilitate operation against the spring tension.

These hand operated staple removers, while convenient to use, are a constant problem, due to their irregular shape and the need for grasping in a particular orientation for effective use. Thus, whether stored in a drawer or on a desk top, it frequently takes as long to pick up and properly orient the device in the hand as it takes to remove a staple with the device.

Attempts havebeen made to provide for the storage of hand staple removers of this type in conjunction with stapling machines. One such attempt is seen in U.S.Pat. No. 3,563,5 13 issued Feb. 16, 1971 to Rubin and Radzinsky, wherein a staple remover is slidably mounted within the handle portion of a plier-type hand stapler. While this approach provides the advantage of having the staple remover always available with the stapling device, it represents a rather awkward approach, since the staple remover remains at all times fixed to the stapling device, thus limiting freedom of movement in use of the staple remover portion.

Another US. Pat. No. 3,056,584 which issued Oct. 2, 1962 to W. C. Pankonin discloses means for mounting a hand staple remover in a specially constructed base of a stapling machine at the rear portion of the base with respect to the normal orientation of the stapling machine on a desk or other support. With this approach, the hand stapler can be freely disengaged from the base for convenient use, but it will be noted that the problem of interfittting the stapler with the base necessitates the use of special, offcentered fingerpieces on the staple remover, with the result that the staple remover can only be re-inserted in the base when the staple remover is oriented to properly align the fingerpieces thereof with the accommodating spaces in the base part.

It will be apparent that these approaches leave much to be desired from the standpoint of providing a practical and versatile means for storing hand staple removers when not in use.

THE INVENTION The novel staple remover housing means of the present invention overcomes the problems above described and provides an extremely versatile and practical means for storing hand staple removers when not in use. Regarded in certain of its broader aspects, the new staple remover housing means comprises a generally elongated body, means at the lower surface of said body for positioning the same with respect to a predetermined support, said body having a deep longitudinal recess intermediate the upper and lower surfaces thereof and opening at one rearwardly disposed end of said body as oriented for use, said recess being sized and contoured to freely receive a conventional spring actuated hand staple remover having a pivot at one end and movable staple remover jaws at the other end and actuating fingerpieces adjacent said jaws, and cooperating means on said recessed body and staple remover, providing engagement between the staple remover and said body with the fingerpieces of said staple remover exposed at the sides of said body, and said engagementmeans being capable of disengagement by slight compressive action on the fingerpieces of said staple remover when it is desired to detach and utilize said staple remover.

The bottom surface of the device can be contoured for mounting or support by various types of supporting bodies or surfaces. A simple flat base, for example, will permit orientation on desk tops or other horizontal surfaces. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the bottom surface is preferably contoured to permit mounting on conventional stapling machines either in place of or in conjunction with the striking pads thereof so that the housing means can function as the striking head of the assemblage.

Production of the deeply recessed body is facilitated by forming the same as two interfitting parts. The upper part will provide inner surfaces of the side, top and end walls of the recess and the bottom part includes an upwardly extending portion interfitting with said walls of the top part and providing the contour for the lower wall of the recess. The parts can be secured together by any conventional means, and when formed from plastic material are suitably joined by adhesive bonding.

The two-part construction also permits a single design of top member to be utilized with different bottom members in which the lower surface has been contoured to engage or interfit with predetermined supports of the type above mentioned. Furthermore, the separate upper and lower parts of the device can be cast or moulded fi'om metals or plastic materials using simple two-part moulds eliminating the more costly use of cores which would be required in fashioning the device as a unitary body.

Novel features of the new staple remover housing means will be more readily understood from a consideration of the following description, together with the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention with the various parts thereof identified by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional hand stapler with the staple remover housing means, mounted as the striking head of the stapler, being shown in side elevation.

FIG. 2 is a broken sectional view of the housing means and associated staple remover substantially on the line 2of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the housing means alone taken substantially on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the top and bottom parts of the device shown in FIG. 3 taken in the direction of the arrows 44; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the bottom part, as shown in FIG. 4, taken in the direction of the arrows 55.

As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing, there is schematically illustrated at 10 a conventional hand stapling machine, in which a swing arm 11 ispivoted, as at 12, to a base 13 having at the forward end an anvil 14, against which. staples are formed in the downward swinging movement of the arm 11.

Mounted on the arm 1 1 is a staple remover housing 15 having, on its lower surface, a contoured recess 16 intertitting with the upper forward end 1 1a of the swing arm 1 1. The parts are secured together by suitable fasteners or preferably by ad hesive means to provide firm and durable mounting of the housing means on the swing arm 11.

As more clearly seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing means 15 is provided with a deep longitudinal recess 17 closed at the top, bottom, sides, and forwardly disposed end and open at the rearwardly disposed end 18 to receive a hand staple remover 19 in the substantially compressed or inoperative position, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The staple remover 19 is of the conventional type comprising an inner channelled member 20 and an outer channelled member 21 having jaws 22 and 23 respectively at one end thereof and a pivot 24 hingedly joining the opposed end of said members. Internally disposed around the pivot is a conventional spring tensioning means, not shown in the drawing, which acts to normally urge the jaws 22, 23 into open or operative position and the channelled members 20, 21 are provided with fingerpieces 25, 26 adjacent the jaws 22, 23 for actuating the device against said spring tension in the removal of the staples.

The staple remover is supported within recess 17 by engagement between undercuts 27 in the side walls of the recess and protruding means 28 on at least one of the channelled members 20, 21. As shown in the drawing, the undercuts 27 are preferably of V-shaped cross-sectional contour, with one side 27a or the V, which is adjacent the open end 18 of the recess 17, being substantially parallel to said open end.

As clearly seen in FIGS. 2 to of the drawing, the inner surfaces of the recess 17 at the end portion 17a, which is adjacent the open end 18, are flared outwardly to provide an enlarged opening, facilitating insertion of the staple remover into recess 17. It will be noted, in this connection, that simply pushing in the staple remover provides a snap engagement of the interfitting means 27, 28; and when it is desired to withdraw the staple remover, slight compression on the fingerpieces 25, 26 causes disengagement of the retaining means.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 1, and 3 to 5 of the drawing, the housing means is preferably formed as an upper part 29 and a lower part 30, with the upper part containing the inner contours of the side walls, top wall and end wall of the recess 17 and the bottom wall of the recess 17 being formed by an upwardly protruding portion 30a of the lower part 30. The two parts can be secured together in various ways as, for example, by adhesive bonding means throughout the areas 31, as shown in the plan view in FIG. 5 and as a parting line in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The upper surface of the housing means 15 is preferably contoured to provide an essentially horizontal surface 32 throughout approximately the rearwardly disposed half and a slightly downwardly inclined surface 33 at the forward half of the device. This detail is particularly advantageous in adapting the device to a staple remover as it can be visualized that an outstretched hand contacting the housing means 15 in actuation of the stapler will substantially conform with the contour of the surfaces 33 and 32 respectively in the downwardly swinging movement of the stapler. In this connection, it should be pointed out that the side profile of the housing means 15, as shown in FIG. 4, with the sides 15a diverging from bottom to top of the device serve to neatly provide an enlarged striking area in the surfaces 32, 33 and the inclination of the front surface l5b, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, provides an attractive symmetry with the tapered side walls.

The side walls 15a also preferably include smoothly rounded depressions 34 which align with the fingerpieces 25, 26 and guide the hand toward the fingerpieces, so that grasping of the staple remover can readily be accomplished by relying only onthe sense of touch.

In the structure shown in the drawing, the top wall 29 at the rearward end 29a thereof extends beyond the end 21 of the recess a distance to substantially overlie the fingerpieces 25, 26 of the engaged staple remover, as clearly seen in FIG. 1 of the drawing. It will be understood, however, that, if desired, this extension 29a can be omitted so that the fingerpieces 26 of the engaged staple remover protrude beyond the main body of the housing means 15. From the standpoint of appearance and preventing accidental displacement of the staple remover, however, the overlying structure 29a is considered to be a preferred form of construction.

It is to be understood that the particularly contour illustrated for the recess 16 in the bottom of the device is purely for illustrative purposes and that the contour of this recess is capable of infinite variation in adapting the invention for use and engagement with the swing arm structure or the striking pad structure of various commercial hand staples. It will also be understood that, by providing a simple fiat bottom for the lower part 30, the mounting means 15 can be utilized on desk tops and other horizontal surfaces, as a storage means for staple removers when not in use. In such even, the device 15 would normally be positioned or oriented on a desk with the recess opening 21 away from the user, so that grasping of the fingerpieces 25, 26 of the staple remover automatically orients the staple remover in the hand in a position so that it is ready for immediate use for the removal of staples.

Various changes and modifications in the staple remover housing means, as herein disclosed, will occur to those skilled in the art, and to the extent that such changes and modifications are embraced by the appended claims it is to be understood that they constitute part of the invention.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A staple remover housing means comprising a generally elongated body, means at the lower surface of said body for positioning the same with respect to a predetermined support, said body having a deep longitudinal recess intermediate the upper and lower surfaces thereof and opening at one rearwardly disposed end of said body as oriented for use, said recess being sized and contoured to freely receive a conventional spring actuated hand staple remover having a pivot at one end and movable staple remover jaws at the other end and actuating finger pieces adjacent said jaws, and cooperating means on said recessed body and staple remover, providing engagement between the staple remover and said body with the finger pieces of said staple remover exposed at the sides of said body, and said engagement means being capable of disengagement by slight compressive action on the finger pieces of said staple remover when it is desired to detach and utilize said staple remover.

2. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein upper and lower portions of said body extend beyond the recess therein a distance to substantially overlie the finger piece portions of an engaged staple remover.

3. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein the outer side walls of said body have smoothly depressed surfaces in alignment with the recess in said body and with the finger piece portions of a staple remover associated therewith to thereby facilitate effective grasping of the staple remover.

4. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein said body comprises upper and lower interfitting parts, the top, side and end walls of said recess being formed in said upper part and the bottom wall of said recess comprising an upperwardly extending portion of said lower part fitting within said side and end walls of the upper part enabling said body to be produced by separate molding of said upper and lower parts in simple two part molds.

5. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 4, wherein the upper part of said two part body is fashioned to interfit with any of a plurality of lower parts which are differently contoured on the lower surface thereof to facilitate mounting on different predetermined supports.

6. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein portions of said recess adjacent the open end thereof are flared to enlarge the sides, top and bottom of said opening and to thereby facilitate insertion of a staple remover in said recess.

7. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein said engagement means comprise depressions in the side walls of said recess adjacent the open end thereof and a protruding member on at least one of the hingedly movable portions of said staple remover adjacent the fingerpiece thereof adapted to seat in said recesses and to be supported in engagement therewith by the spring actuation of said staple remover.

thereby provide an enlarged and easily accessible upper striking surface on said body. a

10. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 9, wherein the top surface of said body in the normal rest position of a stapling machine with which it is associated is contoured to provide substantially horizontal orientation of approximately the rear half portion of said upper surface and a slightly downward inclination to the forward half portion of said surface. 

1. A staple remover housing means comprising a generally elongated body, means at the lower surface of said body for positioning the same with respect to a predetermined support, said body having a deep longitudinal recess intermediate the upper and lower surfaces thereof and opening at one rearwardly disposed end of said body as oriented for use, said recess being sized and contoured to freely receive a conventional spring actuated hand staple remover having a pivot at one end and movable staple remover jaws at the other end and actuating finger pieces adjacent said jaws, and cooperating means on said recessed body and staple remover, providing engagement between the staple remover and said body with the finger pieces of said staple removeR exposed at the sides of said body, and said engagement means being capable of disengagement by slight compressive action on the finger pieces of said staple remover when it is desired to detach and utilize said staple remover.
 2. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein upper and lower portions of said body extend beyond the recess therein a distance to substantially overlie the finger piece portions of an engaged staple remover.
 3. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein the outer side walls of said body have smoothly depressed surfaces in alignment with the recess in said body and with the finger piece portions of a staple remover associated therewith to thereby facilitate effective grasping of the staple remover.
 4. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein said body comprises upper and lower interfitting parts, the top, side and end walls of said recess being formed in said upper part and the bottom wall of said recess comprising an upperwardly extending portion of said lower part fitting within said side and end walls of the upper part enabling said body to be produced by separate molding of said upper and lower parts in simple two part molds.
 5. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 4, wherein the upper part of said two part body is fashioned to interfit with any of a plurality of lower parts which are differently contoured on the lower surface thereof to facilitate mounting on different predetermined supports.
 6. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein portions of said recess adjacent the open end thereof are flared to enlarge the sides, top and bottom of said opening and to thereby facilitate insertion of a staple remover in said recess.
 7. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein said engagement means comprise depressions in the side walls of said recess adjacent the open end thereof and a protruding member on at least one of the hingedly movable portions of said staple remover adjacent the fingerpiece thereof adapted to seat in said recesses and to be supported in engagement therewith by the spring actuation of said staple remover.
 8. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 7, wherein said depressions are of essentially V-shaped cross-sectional contour with the sides of the V which are adjacent the open end of said recess being essentially parallel to said open end.
 9. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 1, wherein said lower surface of said body is contoured for engagement with a hand stapling machine as the striking head therefor, and the side and forward end walls of said body may be slightly inclined at an angle outwardly from the vertical to thereby provide an enlarged and easily accessible upper striking surface on said body.
 10. A staple remover housing means as defined in claim 9, wherein the top surface of said body in the normal rest position of a stapling machine with which it is associated is contoured to provide substantially horizontal orientation of approximately the rear half portion of said upper surface and a slightly downward inclination to the forward half portion of said surface. 